A Couple of Other Comments About the US Response to the New Pope

Specifically, this is about the political response to the Pope.

First, it was interesting to see that Tom DeLay literally forced others - you know, actual Catholics - out of the U.S. delegation to John Paul II's funeral so he could be there. Several non-Republican Catholics among Congress were forced to go separately and not as part of the official delegation, because men like Frist and DeLay chose to make this their usual partisan bullshit. Frist, btw, is a Presbyterian while DeLay is, at least in theory, a Baptist.

Second, as an ironic aside to the first, Frist and DeLay have aligned themselves with the Dominionists who do not recognize the Catholic Church or the Pope as Christians. Remember the quote from Pat Robertson who said Episcopalians, Methodists, and Presybyterians were the AntiChrist and he didn't have to be nice to them, and the Catholic Church is held in even less esteem by such types. Strange thing with me: if I don't like someone and happen to believe his or her life was a "lie", I'm not going to attend their funeral just because "it looks good".

Third, interesting that Jeb Bush was chosen to "lead" the U.S. delegation to the "official" swearing in of the new Pope today. While Jeb has said he's not interested in running for president in 2008, I wouldn't hold my breath on that. Several times now, the president has given Jeb some exhaulted role as a leader (Tsunami relief, etc.) that is entirely political rather than a good choice. Jeb's an interesting Catholic, too; he converted to Catholicism at a time that made it the best choice for his political aspirations. Coincidence? Don't think so, not when he knew he would depend heavily on those whose immigrant backgrounds were largely Catholic.

Note, too, Jeb's words about leading the Papal delegation: that the U.S. and the Catholic Church are strongly aligned and would work well together. I for one do not see that the Catholic Church as led from Vatican City can or should have a strong role in American politics, not given than they tend to be very one-sided (kick Kerry out of communion for being pro-choice but allow Giuliani, Ridge, and other pro-choice Republicans to receive communion). Do you want Vatican City affecting the results of American elections? Even as a Catholic, I don't think the right answer is "yes".

Fourth, don't allow yourself to be fooled that when Dominionists among the so-called Christian Right talk about Christians, they include you unless you have a very narrow-minded view of what a Christian is. If you're a Catholic or an Episcopalian or a Unitarian, you do not qualify as a Christian to them. Understand how this is far different from the mainstream. You probably would not exclude Baptists from Christianity, although many of them would exclude you.

Fifth, when Dominionists talk about "trying to protect your right to practice your faith", they do not mean your faith, they mean their faith. If you're not a fundamentalist, you should not have rights according to them.

And those last two points are central to the fight being waged now. The Dominionists and the political whores who have aligned with them like to use inclusionary language to get you to buy their premises (again, largely based on fear of the ridiculous), but if you do, you'll only be respected and allowed to worship their way.